June 7, 2015 – Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

“Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.” – Step Three

“Our description of the alcoholic …make clear three pertinent ideas:(a) That we were alcoholic and could not manage our own lives.(b) That probably no human power could have relieved our alcoholism.(c) That God could and would if He were sought.” – Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Ch 5, p 60.

Today, revisiting Step Three, I ask again if I have enough humility to turn my will and life over to the Higher Power of my understanding. The starting point is the admission that my life, “run on self-will,” has never worked. If I can agree, I must give up running the show – my life – the way I want because to continue to do so is another guaranteed failure. So, I look outside and, if I can say even half-heartedly that I am still alive only “by the grace of God,” I have found my Higher Power. And because His grace is why I am alive, I can also say that I can trust Him more than myself to show me how to live as a sober alcoholic. Today, I reaffirm my decision to surrender my will to my Higher Power because I’ve not done such a great job of doing it on my own. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M., 2015